Eagles slip past Wildcats

By Ben Brooks -- sports@nvdaily.com

BERRYVILLE -- Listening to both volleyball coaches afterward, it was difficult to tell which team won Tuesday night's non-district high school season opener.

Clarke County's Mary Brune said her team has looked much better in preseason practices and scrimmages. Warren County's Cathy Brill couldn't heap enough praise on her young squad's defense.

In the end, Clarke County survived several Warren County comebacks to edge the scrappy Wildcats 3-2 (25-16, 20-25, 25-23, 23-25, 15-6).

"We had moments of good play, just not enough of them," said Brune, who had to replace half of her starting lineup this season. "Maybe we both had some jitters."

Starting wasn't Clarke County's problem. Finishing, however, was. After closing out the first game with a 9-1 run, the Eagles appeared to have things under control in the second game. Amy Hagerdon's bump from the back row dropped in the middle of Warren County's defense, giving Clarke County a 16-11 advantage. The Wildcats, however, stormed back to score 10 of the next 11 points, two on kills from Katie Robinson, and eventually evened the match on Brooke Magalis' ace.

With Clarke County holding a 2-1 edge, the Wildcats again proved to be a tough out. In the fourth game, Warren County rallied from an 18-11 deficit. Tied at 23, Warren County's Rachel Cerretani skimmed the net with a kill and Robin Mikulak forced the decisive fifth set by dropping a shot down the middle.

The Eagles finally managed to put the Wildcats away in the fifth. As she was throughout the night, Hagerdon was key with her all-around play. The senior outside hitter delivered two kills, two service aces, and a dig that led to a Molly Keesling kill in the fifth game. Clarke County jumped out to a 10-2 lead and never looked back.

Hagerdon finished with 15 kills on the night, including one to end the third game. She roamed far to her left and sent a well-placed shot with her left hand past two Wildcat blockers.

"We were looking to play more tight and work on some plays," Hagerdon said. "We did a few tonight, but not as many as we should have."

While momentary lapses sometimes put the Wildcats in predicaments, they gave their supporters every reason to believe that improving on last year's three-win season is possible.

"I was really proud of our defense," said Brill, whose Wildcats were swept by the Eagles in both matches last season. "At times we were playing with four freshmen out there."

Two of those were starting libero Jasmain Ford, who finished with 27 digs, and Alyson Fox, who added a pair of solo blocks. Robinson led the Wildcats with nine kills.

Warren's improvement wasn't lost on Brune.

"They kept coming back," she said. "They deserved to be in it. It was anybody's game."

In addition to Hagerdon, the Eagles got 20 assists from Leslie Rae Conner, seven kills from Keesling and six kills from Chelsea Nelson.